I am updating John's charging point installation leaflet to enable it to be used for my local council who I am working with. It can then also be used as a proper BVS document that any BVS member should be able to used.

I would like to complete this as soon as possible so any tips, information would be greatfully received.

For various reasons (e.g. fuel prices increase, decrease in oil availability and wider deployment of congestion charging) more and more people are choosing to purchase and use electric vehicles. This document summarises the advantages/disadvantages of supporting the use of electric vehicles in city/town centres and at work. It covers currently available options with costs and makes a recommendation for a typical installation.

ADVANTAGES OF SUPPORTING ELECTRIC VEHICLES

The following summarises the advantages and disadvantages of installing a recharge point:-

Advantages

* Installing a recharge point at work effectively allows 4 times the number of people to use electric vehicles to travel to work [1]
* Installing a recharge point in a shopping centre means at least 50% more people can use electric vehicles to shop [2]
* Charging at work and shopping centres is part of the Project Better Place that ?? governments are currently interested in adopting [3]
* Provides visible evidence that a city/town/company is actually supporting green travel
* currently a 50% grant available for the installation of publicly accessible charging points, although many installations are performed without grant assistance due to the administrative burdens involved for low cost installations [?]
* Electric vehicles are ideal for local commuting including to work and for shopping.
* Reduces particulate pollution in towns and cities.
* Reduces carbon footprint for each local trip using an Electric Vehicle by 60%

Disadvantages

* High initial costs of installation compared to the amount of electricity that is used and can therefore be charged for.
* Increases pollution at power station by increased electricity usage while fossil fuel power stations are used. However, this can be mitigated by installing solar cells locally (however this significantly increases the costs, e.g. Ã‚Â£10k for a solar cell array to fully cover a few electric vehicles)

CHARGING MODEL

Many charging points either do not charge for the electricity, or have a charity donation box because the annual cost of electricity is small compared to installation or administration costs. The typical cost of electricity for a car using the charging point will be about 50p for a 2.5 hour recharge. For regularly used commuting charging points in London, this could amount to Ã‚Â£100 pounds per year, but elsewhere without congestion charging incentives for electric vehicles, the electricity cost will be much less.

RECOMMENDED INSTALLATION

There are several options for electric vehicle recharging points, of varying costs and practicality. The following covers the key points.

Recommended Approach

* A problem with connecting/installing one vehicle should not cause a problem with another one already on charge. This is because it can be extremely inconvenient for the affected driver when he gets back and expects his vehicle to be adequately charged.
* Vandals should not be able to disrupt charging of vehicles on charge.
* Support of 16A sockets (operating at 16A) as some electric vehicles (e.g. the common Berlingo Electrique) will take the full 13A or slight over causing warming of any 13A plug and cable (not ideal from a safety point of view).
* All charging points should have weather protection, an isolating switch and a residual current device for safety.
* It is recommended that installation of outlets are in pairs, as the installation and cost of security measures, if necessary, far exceeds the cost of a second socket and isolator.

In London, computerised charging posts are installed, for which grants are available to reduce their installed cost of Ã‚Â£12,000 each. These charge an annual membership of Ã‚Â£400 and provide their electricity for free. They are activated by a radio card which is provided free with annual membership. This system is best suited to a commuter environment where the charging points are used on a regular daily basis by regular users. The connections are via a lockable flap, and the charging plug is a standard domestic 13A 3-pin plug.

Bristol

In Bristol, publicly accessible charging points at present are within shopping centres and private businesses. At the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre, four unlockable recharging sockets are provided under cover, two 13A weather resistant domestic sockets and two 16A external sockets. The underground car park has CCTV coverage and is open 24hrs per day, as the shopping centre police are stationed nearby, and they can be used 24hrs per day, although people using the facilities are asked to sign a register each time they use them, and make a charity donation for the electricity they use during shopping centre opening hours. They are regularly used by cars, vans and motorcycles, and they also provide other free recharging facilities for electrically assisted bicycles. Other Council or private recharging facilities are open to the public and provide either 13A or 16A external weather protected sockets. Some ask for a contribution towards the electricity costs, some do not. Some are accessed only by permission from administrative staff, and some have combination locks on them, so that regular users do not need permission or the presence of staff to operate them.

Germany

In Germany, there is a national recharging system, similar to the old "AA box" system in the U.K. For a small sum, a key is provided that will open any box throughout the country for the registered user.

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[1] Allowing people to recharge at work means that they can travel double the range to commute (doubling the radius, doubles the area of a circle). So the number of people that this then covers is the square of 2, which is 4.

[2] Assuming that the standard car takes 8 hours to recharge and most people spend 2 hours shopping, then the increase in range is 2/8 = 0.25. The number of people affected is 1.25 x 1.25 = 1.56

[3] Project Better Place plans to deploy an extensive network of 500,000 battery charging spots in Israel which is part of a national scheme for an electric vehicle infrastructure that is both practical and appealing to governments (see presentation on Youtube by ?? at http://tinyurl.com/6653rt). As of ?? 30 ? governments have shown interest in adopting the model. Including charging points at work and in shopping centres are an important part of that model (see ??? for more information).

I share deker's concern about your maths, and coming up with a number of users in range.

Who is this document for? I think it needs a lot of polishing and some 'spin' before being shown to anyone who needs to be sold the idea of fitting a charging point if they are not already enthusiasts.

Sorry to be so negative- I will have a go at writing my version, but may not get a chance this week.

Can you post John's original version? I would like to see what you started with.

The error in the maths was simply the double should have been quadruple (as implied in other areas of the calculation).

Tim, I have sent you a google invite to the google docs where the current working version is. I prefer that we develop a co-ordinated approach, hence the shared google docs. If anyone else is interested let me know your google id or your email address and I will give you access so that you update the document. It is currently missing prices for security container, etc.

The original info from John was

Electric Vehicle Charging Options for Talgarth Car Park.

J.P.Lilly. Chairman, Battery Vehicle Society. 1st March 2008.

There are several options for electric vehicle recharging points, of varying costs and practicality. Many of them either do not charge for the electricity, or have a charity donation box because the annual cost of electricity is small compared to installation or administration costs. The typical cost of electricity for a car using the charging point will be about 50p for a 21/2 hour recharge. For regularly used commuting charging points in London, this could amount to Ã‚Â£100 pounds per year, but elsewhere without congestion charging incentives for electric vehicles, the electricity cost will be much less.

There is currently a 50% grant available for the installation of publically accessible charging points, although many installations are perfromed without grant assistance due to the administrative burdens involved for low cost installations. All charging points should have weather protection, an isolating switch and a residual current device for safety. I would recommend installation in pairs, as the installation and cost of security measures, if necessary, far exceeds the cost of a second socket and isolator.

In London, computerised charging posts are installed, for which grants are available to reduce their installed cost of Ã‚Â£12,000 each. These charge an annual membership of Ã‚Â£400 and provide their electricity for free. They are activated by a radio card which is provided free with annual membership. This system is best suited to a commuter environment where the charging points are used on a regular daily basis by regular users. The connections are via a lockable flap, and the charging plug is a standard domestic 13A 3-pin plug.

In Bristol, publically accessible charging points at present are within shopping centres and private businesses. At the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre, four unlockable recharging sockets are provided under cover, two 13A weather resistant domestic sockets and two 16A external sockets. The underground car park has CCTV coverage and is open 24hrs per day, as the shopping centre police are stationed nearby, and they can be used 24hrs per day, although people using the facilities are asked to sign a register each time they use them, and make a charity donation for the electricity they use during shopping centre opening hours. They are regularly used by cars, vans and motorcycles, and they also provide other free recharging facilities for electrically assisted bicycles. Other Council or private recharging facilities are open to the public and provide either 13A or 16A external weatherprotected sockets. Some ask for a contribution towards the electricity costs, some do not. Some are accessed only by permission from adminstrative staff, and some have combination locks on them, so that regular users do not need permission or the presence of staff to operate them.

In Germany, there is a national recharging system, similar to the old "AA box" system in the U.K. For a small sum, a key is provided that will open any box throughout the country for the registered user.

In Talgarth car park, some security will no doubt be necessary to prevent frivolous use and discourage vandalism. A lockable, weatherproof 16A socket is commercially available for external installation. This is the lowest cost option, which can be secured by a combination lock, but these may not be sufficiently robust to discourage vandals (I have no knowledge of the risk in Talgarth). For greater security, a lockable cabinet is more appropriate, inside which, pairs of 13 and 16A sockets can be installed, and, if necessary, an electricity meter. If either no charge is made for the electricity, or a meter is present, a key or combination could be made available for local users, and that key or combination may be made available from the Co-op or Talgarth Information Centre for visiting users. The most secure option, although likely to discourage the charging points use, is to only allow access with a single key held by either the Co-Op or the Information Centre. You may wish to consider that the time at which a locally owned electric vehicle is most urgently in need of a recharge is at unsociable hours when friends or businesses cannot be raised from their slumber.

Details of the charging points, if installed, can be entered onto the National Recharging database. This is an internet facility which advertises the publically accessible charging points throughout the country. So far, there is only one privately owned recharging point anywhere close to the National Park, and that is my own.